Re: 25 Classic Books That Have Been Banned

On Thu, 29 May 2025 14:33:57 -0600, lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:

On 2025-05-29 09:05, Paul S Person wrote:

On Wed, 28 May 2025 16:13:48 -0600, lar3ryca <larry@invalid.ca> wrote:
 

On 2025-05-27 10:04, Paul S Person wrote:

On 26 May 2025 15:53:04 GMT, ram@zedat.fu-berlin.de (Stefan Ram)
wrote:
>

Paul S Person <psperson@old.netcom.invalid> wrote or quoted:

1. That is an intellectualist/atheist definition of "miracle",
intended to show that none exist. The actual meaning is "something
worth looking at". Or perhaps "something you don't see every day".

>
   However, have you heard of the "etymological fallacy," where
   someone wrongly argues that a word's current meaning must be
   the same as its original or historical meaning, ignoring the
   fact that language evolves over time?
>
   I have my dictionary right here, and it says, "An event that
   appears inexplicable by the laws of nature and so is held to
   be supernatural in origin or an act of God".
>
   Oops! Sorry, I was being an "intellectualist" again!

>
Just because the intellectuals and atheists won the battle to make
that the definition does not change the reality.

>
Feel free to prove that what you consider to be reality is factual.

 
Prove /what/ is factual? Please be specific.

>
I already specified it. It's "what you consider to be reality".

OK. Why would what I merely /consider/ to be reality have to be
factual? It isn't as if I am claiming it really is reality, only  that
I consider it to be. Or do you want me to prove that I really do
consider to be reality what I consider to be reality?

BTW, my copy of /The American Heritage Dictionary of the English
Language/, purchased way-back-when when it first appeared (late 60s,
IIRC) does have the definition above as the /first/ meaning. But it
also has a second:

A person, thing, or event that excites admiring awe.

Which is pretty much what I have been saying.

So, had Trump actually produced awe in addition to shock, /that/ would
have been a miracle.

It also has a third meaning:

A miracle play.

But I suppose these other meanings may have disappeared since the late
60s, who can say?
--
"Here lies the Tuscan poet Aretino,
Who evil spoke of everyone but God,
Giving as his excuse, 'I never knew him.'"